65 people apply for 2 vacant seats on City Council

Wednesday

Dec 31, 2008 at 12:01 AMDec 31, 2008 at 12:25 PM

Many of the people who've begged Columbus City Council members during the past month to spare recreation centers, health programs and other endangered services have remarked how tough their budget-cutting job must be.

Many of the people who've begged Columbus City Council members during the past month to spare recreation centers, health programs and other endangered services have remarked how tough their budget-cutting job must be.

But it's a job that 65 people want -- the biggest number in at least a decade to seek appointment to a vacant council seat.

"I'm encouraged that people would be willing to serve," said Councilman Hearcel F. Craig, a 2007 appointee who won his own term the same year.

The list of applicants for two council openings includes 10 members of Columbus area commissions or civic associations, seven people who have been appointed to city boards or commissions, five city workers and one elected official.

Councilwoman Maryellen O'Shaughnessy and Councilman Kevin L. Boyce are expected to resign their seats within days, and the remaining five members will select replacements on Jan. 12.

O'Shaughnessy was elected last month as Franklin County's clerk of courts, and Boyce was appointed last week to be state treasurer.

The people who want to replace them almost unanimously cite the economy as the biggest challenge for Columbus. The city faces a $90 million-plus budget shortfall that Mayor Michael B. Coleman wants to eliminate with job cuts, service reductions and use of the city's rainy-day fund.

A number said they oppose Coleman's plan to close 11 recreation centers.

Two members of the city's Recreation and Parks Commission are among the applicants. Jerry Saunders Sr. also is the chief executive of the Africentric Personal Development Shop Inc., and Karla Rothan is executive director of Stonewall Columbus, an advocacy group for gays.

Neighborhood leaders from all parts of the city are among the council applicants. Gary L. Baker II was chairman of the Greater Hilltop Area Commission until he was elected to the Columbus school board in 2007. Jeffrey H. Knoll is a member of the newly created Columbus South Side Area Commission.

Tiffany White is chairwoman of the North Central Area Commission, and Dave Paul heads the Northland Community Council.

Mayo T. Makinde is president of the East Columbus Civic Association, and Gina Hawthorne-Hill is a member of the Livingston Avenue Area Commission.

James C. Ragland, who serves as the legislative aide to Councilwoman Charleta B. Tavares, applied for a council spot. The leader of Coleman's New Americans Initiative, Guadalupe A. Velasquez, also is seeking a council seat.

A program manager for the neighborhood services division, a recreation center leader and a payroll clerk in the Division of Police are the other city employees who applied before yesterday's deadline.

Ellen L. Moore, director of the Community Crime Patrol, also is on the list of council applicants. The private anti-crime group faces a 50 percent cut in city funding.

The two people who win the council appointments will face voters in November 2009.

rvitale@dispatch.com

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.